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The president's remarks on human rights were aired on Vietnamese TV

Hanoi, Vietnam (CNN)President Barack Obama made a forceful case for human rights in Vietnam Tuesday during a speech in Hanoi and he called for the "peaceful resolution" of disputes in the South China Sea.

Obama stressed the need to uphold human rights in his remarks to the Vietnamese people and were broadcast on television in a nation that has a dismal record on the issue.

Photos:Obama visits Vietnam, Japan

Photos:Obama visits Vietnam, Japan

President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shake hands after laying wreaths at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima on Friday, May 27. Obama, the first sitting president to visit Hiroshima, called for a "world without nuclear weapons," during his speech but his remarks stopped short of an apology.

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Photos:Obama visits Vietnam, Japan

Obama told U.S. and Japanese troops on May 27 at the Iwakuni Marine Corps Air Station in Iwakuni, Japan: "This afternoon I will visit Hiroshima. This is an opportunity to honor the memory of all those who were lost in World War II."

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Photos:Obama visits Vietnam, Japan

President Obama greets members of the U.S. and Japanese military as he arrives at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Iwakuni on May 27.

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Photos:Obama visits Vietnam, Japan

From left: Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, French President François Hollande, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, U.S. President Barack Obama, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, European Council President Donald Tusk and British Prime Minister David Cameron walk past the Kagura-den as they visit Ise Jingu shrine in Ise, Japan, on Thursday, May 26. Obama is visiting Japan and Vietnam during his 10th trip to Asia.

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Photos:Obama visits Vietnam, Japan

World leaders join in a ceremony to plant trees at Ise Jingu shrine in Ise, Japan, on May 26. Obama and other major world leaders are in Japan for a Group of Seven, or G7, summit.

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Photos:Obama visits Vietnam, Japan

From left: British Prime Minister David Cameron, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, U.S. President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau talk together after a group photo session at the G7 summit in Shima, Japan, on May 26.

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Photos:Obama visits Vietnam, Japan

U.S. President Barack Obama pauses for a translation during a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Shima, Japan, on Wednesday, May 25.

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Photos:Obama visits Vietnam, Japan

Obama is greeted by U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy and her husband, Edwin Arthur Schlossberg, at the airport in Tokoname, Japan, on May 25.

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Photos:Obama visits Vietnam, Japan

Obama shakes hands after speaking at a town-hall event in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on May 25.

Obama walks to the left of Thi Kim Ngan, chairwoman of Vietnam's National Assembly, at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on Monday, May 23.

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Photos:Obama visits Vietnam, Japan

Obama meets with Nguyen Phu Trong, the Vietnamese Communist Party's general secretary, in Hanoi on May 23.

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Obama, with Secretary of State John Kerry and other Cabinet members, attends a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, third from right, on May 23.

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Obama gives a toast during a state luncheon hosted by Vietnam's President in Hanoi on May 23.

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Photos:Obama visits Vietnam, Japan

Obama holds a news conference with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang on May 23. Obama announced the United States is fully lifting the decades-long ban on the sale of military equipment to Vietnam. He said the removal of the ban was part of a deeper defense cooperation with the country and dismissed suggestions it was aimed at countering China's growing strength in the region.

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The two Presidents listen to their countries' national anthems during a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on May 23.

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Human rights "is not a threat to stability" but reinforces it, Obama said.

Freedom of speech and expression "fuels" the economy, the President continued. "That is how some of our greatest companies began."

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Highlighting freedom of the press, assembly, and religion, Obama said that while the U.S. is not trying to "impose the American form of government on Vietnam," the country should be more open to scrutiny in order to grow "stronger and more prosperous."

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Before addressing the Vietnamese people on human rights, Obama met with six leaders from Vietnamese civil society. The President noted that several activists had been prevented from attending the meeting.

"We are not going to be able to release any names of folks that could not attend, but as the President said, a small number of invitees faced obstacles in attending the meeting," White House spokesman Eric Schultz said.

"The unprecedented nature of a meeting between a head of state and independent civil society in Hanoi demonstrates that we will continue to raise issues related to human rights with Vietnam even as our relationship progresses and we have continued differences, and the President expressed to both the government and civil society that he believes our deepening engagement will allow us to more productively support progress on legal reforms and respect for universal values going forward," he added.

Audience members said Obama raised "important" issues in his speech, and praised his support for human rights.

"Vietnam will have greater access to the equipment you need to improve your security," Obama said. "Nations are sovereign and no matter how large or small a nation may be, its territory should be respected."

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China's Foreign Ministry responded Tuesday to Obama's comments, with spokeswoman Hua Chunyin saying: "The freedom of navigation they are talking about, is it true freedom of navigation enjoyed by every nation under international law, or it is a privileged freedom of navigation for American naval vessels and military aircraft?

"If the former, of course we welcome it with open arms, we protect it and resolutely support it," she added. "But if it is the latter, I think the international community would not agree."

With President Obama's visit this week with crowds that we saw along the street today, the remarkably warm and generous welcome, the unbelievable excitement of people that we are here with a President of the United States at this moment is absolutely palpable and I think it is a demarcation point," Kerry told reporters Tuesday in Hanoi.

"I think that clearly we will never fail to honor the sacrifice of those who fought here and what their dreams were for this country, but I think one can say genuinely, definitively without a failing to honor past service, that we have reached a very new point in our relationship now," he added.